Fred Allen a tormented wit.
Fred Allen was a true wit of his time. From the beginning of his radio career he was beset with problems, hitting him from all directions. He was one stages most talented wits when he was lured onto radio in 1932. Allen was the under-paid and over-worked performers of his time. On the Linit Bath Revue, his first sponsor was too cheap to allow Fred to have an outside writer. Therefore, Fred had to do it all,create, write & edit his show every week. All of which Linit paid him: $1000.00 a week. Fred worked 7 days a week, sometimes, most times writing & rewriting the final scripts until 4
a.m. in the morning, just before the final rehearsal, before air time. He never made the kind of money his long time vaudeville friend Jack Benny did. Fred never got the type on monetary support from all of his sponsors. All he got from them was guff & criticism. Same too with the networks he worked for and from the advertising agencies who thought the knew what the public wanted. Fred was the only man who knew, & he proved his point week in and week out, when he won the constant battles with the networks, agencies, & the sponsors. Please enjoy these shows, from the 1943 Peabody Award Winner, Fred Allen.
